Reviewed resources for teaching about climate and energy

This video is one of a series from the Switch Energy project. It presents pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. In this video, new fracking technologies are presented as more economical and environmentally safe.

In this activity students trace the sources of their electricity, heating and cooling, and other components of their energy use though the use of their family's utility bills and information from utility and government websites.

This animation presents the characteristics of wind power as a source of clean energy. The force of moving air generates electricity, by rotating blades around a rotor. The motion of the rotor turns a driveshaft that drives an electric generator.

A series of activities designed to introduce students to the role of sediments and sedimentary rocks in the global carbon cycle and the use of stable carbon isotopes to reconstruct ancient sedimentary environments. Students will make some simple calculations, think about the implications of their results, and see an optional demonstration of the density separation of a sediment sample into a light, organic and a heavier mineral fraction.

Students will use real satellite data to determine 1) where the greatest concentrations of aerosols are located during the course of a year in the tropical Atlantic region and 2) their source of origin. This is an inquiry-style lesson where students pull real aerosol data and attempt to identify trends among data sets.

In this visualization students can explore North American fossil fuel CO2 emissions at very fine space and time scales. The data is provided by the Vulcan emissions data project, a NASA/DOE funded effort under the North American Carbon Program (NACP).

Preparing for or responding to an environmental disasters requires knowledge from many disciplines and real time interdisciplinary problem solving. The interaction between the extreme event, people in its path and the response mechanisms of government and business combine at one place and time. How do we prepare students for careers where they can make useful and valuable contributions that mitigate risks and increase resilience in the face of a growing population and changing environment? What do students need to know about risk and resilience? What foundational knowledge will prepare them to communicate with, learn from, and work with experts from the range of disciplines that are needed to address these problems?

This workshop will bring together educators from the variety of disciplines that prepare students to address natural disasters with those currently engaged in addressing these challenges. Focusing on three case studies, we will share best practices in education to help students to understand needs of different stakeholders and to prepare students for careers related to hazard mitigation and adaptation. We will consider how partnerships among academia, civil society, and the business community will enhance both student learning and community preparedness. We will identify needs for curricular resources and discuss how to meet these needs.

This workshop is open to 30 faculty (by application) and there is no registration fee to attend. Participation for non-academics is by invitation. Workshop stipends are available to help defray travel expenses in cases of financial need. Accepted participants are expected to contribute teaching materials to a new web-based collection devoted to teaching about risk and resilience across the disciplines.

The energy we use to heat and light our homes, drive to work and school and watch our favorite television show can come from a variety of traditional and renewable energy sources -- crude oil, natural gas, wind farms, hydroelectric power and coal-fired power plants. But how do we understand the costs and benefits of the energy choices we make? What happens if the mix of energy sources changes in the future? What does this all mean for our climate, air, water, and overall environmental quality? Learn about the scientific tools EPA scientists are developing to help states, communities and Tribes make decisions about energy use now and in the future. Explore an interactive board game developed by EPA scientists called Generate! that explores energy choices and the environment and gets students “energized” in some friendly competition.

What are the climate impacts expected in your region of the United States, and how can you use existing tools and scenarios to better understand them? This webinar will provide an overview of the regional climate scenarios developed as a part of the National Climate Assessment including how to use them, how they were produced, where to find them, and the potential use in risk or opportunity assessment for higher education.

Panelists:

Moderator: Anne Waple, Former Chair of the National Climate Assessment Technical Support Unit, current Director of Communications & Science for Second Nature

Ken Kunkel, NOAA Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites and Scientist-at-Large for the National Climate Assessment

Adam Parris - Program Director for NOAA's Regional Integrated Science and Assessments, and lead author on "Global Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States National Climate Assessment"

Mark McCaffrey, Director of Collaborative Partnerships at the National Center for Science Education, is the featured speaker this month for the Climate Stewards project. He will address the questions: How can we best provide learners with authentic data and current research into climate changes that are already occurring in the United States? What is the National ClimateAssessment and how can I use its resources in my classroom? What are some of the best online resources for teaching about climate challenges and energy responses, and how do they tie to the Next Generation Science Standards? In his presentation, Mark will provide an overview of the learning pathways developed for educators that help them unpack the National Climate Assessment. He will also highlight insights for educators from his book Climate Smart & Energy Wise including how to address doubt, denial and despair when teaching about these challenging topics.

Following Mark's presentation, Cindy Schmidt, Director of NCAR'sClimate Voices Science Speakers Network will provide an overview of the project which works bring climate scientists directly in touch with students and members of the community to discuss the local effects of a changing climate and possible ways to address impacts.

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